Flu-like symptoms may not be caused by a bite or sting, but they may
mean a more serious problem. Examples of a more serious problems
include:

A
toxic reaction, which occurs when insect or spider
venom acts like a poison in the body.

Serum sickness.
Venom from insect stings or spider bites and medicines such as penicillin are
common causes of serum sickness.

Lyme disease, a
bacterial disease that can be passed by the bite of a deer tick. Symptoms begin
within 3 weeks of a bite and often include an expanding red rash in addition to
flu-like symptoms.

Encephalitis caused by the West Nile
virus. West Nile virus is spread to people by infected mosquitoes. Most
infections are mild. Symptoms usually appear within 3 to 15 days of the
bite.

Malaria, which is caused by a parasite
that infects human liver cells and red blood cells. Malaria is an infectious
disease carried by certain mosquitoes. Symptoms in the early stages of malaria
can be similar to those of many other illnesses caused by bacterial, viral, or
parasitic infections. You may have malaria if you have symptoms of malaria and
you have been in an area where malaria is present (such as Central or South
America, Africa, or Asia), especially in the past 2 months.

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